1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to lasers, and more particularly, to solid state lasers. The present invention is concerned with a solid state laser having a single frequency output using a technology which is scaleable over a wide range of output power.
2. The Prior Art
Applications for single frequency output lasers are very numerous. Such lasers are useful for certain applications such as driving slave cavities, as seed lasers for larger Q-switched lasers, sources for stable frequency doubling to the visible, optical communications (coherent detection schemes) and others.
Single mode lasing has been observed in masers, gain switching lasers, and microchip lasers. Single mode lasing has also been observed in the stoichiometric crystal Nd:LiPo5 using a dye laser pumping source. More recently, single mode lasing has been observed in this crystal by utilizing diode pumping. Single frequency lasing is known using a pumping source having a power level above but very close to threshold, i.e., about 1.1 times the threshold pump power level.
Despite the limited successful achievement of single frequency lasing in solid state materials, the limiting phenomena have not heretofore been well understood, and there is thus room for improvement in single frequency solid state lasers.